Generally, multilamp photoflash arrays include a circuit board having a printed circuit thereon and a plurality of flashlamps each having a pair of electrically conductive leads extending outwardly therefrom. These electrically conductive leads are connected to the printed circuit by any one of a number of well known techniques. For example, eyelets may be inserted in the circuit board and the lamp leads crimped therein, the leads may be looped through holes in the circuit board, or the leads may be staked through the circuit board and into the back of the circuit runs of the printed circuit. Also, it is common in low voltage arrays to solder the electrically conductive leads to the circuit runs of the printed circuit.
Although the above-described techniques for fabricating multilamp photoflash arrays have been and still are used with varying degrees of success, it has been found that such techniques do have limitations and especially so in the manufacture of miniature and subminiature photoflash assemblies. More specifically, component and assembly costs as well as space limitations render the above-described techniques of array assembly and electrical lead attachment unsatisfactory for miniaturized arrays.
One known form of miniaturized array having an enhanced attachment of the leads to a printed circuit is disclosed in a concurrently filed application entitled "Subminiature Photoflash Array," bearing U.S. Ser. No. 359,468 filed in the names of Shaffer et al and assigned to the assignee of the present application. Therein, the electrically conductive leads of the flashlamps are passed through small apertures in a reflector unit, bent to hold the lamps within the reflector unit and the reflector unit is sealed to a circuit board in a manner to cause the bent leads to contact the printed circuit on the circuit board.
Although the above-described configuration does provide numerous advantages over the previously described eyelet crimping, staking and soldering structures and fabrications techniques, it has been found that a problem does exist. Specifically, it has been found deleterious to assembly time and cost when relatively small wires are passed through relatively small holes as set forth in the above discussed application.